Media releases

• Brock webinar to examine mismatch between youth education and job opportunities

  Monday, November 13, 2017 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 13 November 2017 – R00210

  Brock University’s Niagara Community Observatory (NCO) will launch its research brief, “Youth Employment in Niagara: Mapping the Opportunities” this week.

  The brief outlines demographic information for Niagara and explores the region’s youth employment prospects.

  Specifically, it looks at the mismatch between youth education levels and employment opportunities in Niagara, says Niagara Community Observatory Director Charles Conteh.

  “What we want to do with this youth employment brief is to reach all of Niagara,” he says. “We want to create a conversation for the whole region about appropriate measures that are specific to the needs and circumstances of Niagara.”

  For the first time ever, the NCO will be launching its brief through a webinar rather than at a physical location. The research group has partnered with the community network organization Niagara Connects to do so.

  Executive Director Mary Wiley says Niagara Connects has been hosting webinars successfully for several years.

  “The webinars are facilitated by a knowledge broker who is highly skilled in helping to build the learning objectives and fill the agenda for the webinar, and maximizing how the time is spent,” explains Wiley.

  “The webinars seem to really resonate in Niagara.”

  What: Launch of Niagara Community Observatory “Youth Employment in Niagara: Mapping the Opportunities” policy brief

  When: Wednesday, Nov. 15, 1 to 2 p.m.

  Register: Click here to register online

   

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

  – 30 –

  Categories: Media releases

• Brock University gains a new Canada Research Chair in water resilience

  Thursday, November 09, 2017 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: 9 November 2017 – R00209

  Water is all around us, and it’s something many Canadians take for granted. But water quality and quantity is increasingly threatened by climate change, pollution and other human-driven impacts.

  Brock University Assistant Professor Julia Baird researches how we can foster resilience of freshwater resources through management and governance in an era of rapid change and uncertainty.

  “Water is vital; everybody knows it. Water is an incredibly critical resource and it’s under pressure,” says Baird, who was named Brock’s newest Canada Research Chair (CRC) last week by the Canadian government. The CRC program recognizes the top researchers across the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, social sciences and engineering.

  As CRC in Human Dimensions of Water Resources and Water Resilience, Baird is studying a “new water paradigm,” a view that recognizes the complex interactions between freshwater social and ecological systems that are constantly being influenced by internal and external forces.

  The foundation of her work is the concept of resilience: the capacity to retain structure and function during times of change; learn, adapt and transform when faced with that change; and organize itself to meet the challenges.

  “I’m interested in management and governance approaches that incorporate ideas of resilience: the ability to adapt and change to support human and ecosystem well-being,” says Baird, Assistant Professor in Brock’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC) and the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies.

  Underlying Baird’s work is the belief that humans are impacting the earth and that a new time period — the Anthropocene — should be added to the planet’s official geologic timeline.

  “We are in an era where humans are the driving force of change,” she says. “We need to really think about how we’re managing our actions. The social dimension is critical.”

  Baird’s research will focus on how freshwater resilience can be fostered by society and what needs to be done to respond to increasing challenges and complexities.

  She will also examine how individual actions aimed at restoring the ecosystem contribute to building resilience, and understand how social networks and other factors influence decision-making at that individual level.

  Baird, who joined Brock in 2011 as a post-doctoral fellow, says she “couldn’t be happier” with her Canada Research Chair appointment.

  “It’s a really great opportunity,” she says. “It provides tremendous support for my program of research and acknowledgement of the importance of water resilience as a priority research area here at Brock and for Canada.

  “This also provides opportunities to engage in national and international collaborations. It gives me that boost at the beginning of my career to really excel in my field.”

  Baird has a history of international research partnerships. In a 2016 study involving research partners from across Europe, Australia and Canada, Baird and her colleagues found there are a wide range of perceptions about water resilience and how water resources should be governed across multiple international cases.

  “Baird is an outstanding researcher whose work has national and international impact. This award recognizes her outstanding accomplishments, and it will help further her career as a scholar,” says Joffre Mercier, Brock’s Interim Vice-President, Research.

  With Baird’s award, Brock now has a total of 11 Canada Research Chairs.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

  Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.

  – 30 –

  Categories: Media releases